Ennis weighs resort tax

BOZEMAN – A 10-member task force has begun meetings in Ennis to develop a proposed resort tax it would like to see on the ballot in June.

Only towns with fewer than 5,500 people that can prove most of their economy is tourism-based are allowed to create a resort tax. The state Department of Revenue determined that Ennis met those requirements in 1997 because tourists flock to the town for blue-ribbon trout fishing and on their way to Yellowstone National Park. But two previous efforts to create a resort tax in Ennis have failed to produce a ballot measure.

Mayor-elect John Clark said the latest effort came after the town council was rebuffed in an effort to raise money to repave roads.

“When we presented it to the citizens, they said, ‘No, we don’t want it,’ ” he said. “They wanted a resort tax to pay for it.

“A resort tax, if done right, can benefit both the private sector of the town and the business side of the town immensely,” Clark said, noting that all the money stays in the town.

Resort taxes can only be levied on “luxury items” like hotel rooms and meals at restaurants.

Rob Gallentine, who has owned Shedhorn Sports in Ennis since 1982, said adding a 3 percent tax on a big-ticket item like a rifle would hurt his business.

“It’s a bad deal for me. It’s a very bad deal. There are better ways to raise money. You don’t have to penalize the merchants of Ennis to do it,” he said.

Gallentine, who is also on the task force, said it would create a discrepancy between businesses inside and outside the city limits.

Town commissioner Diane McPhetres argued that it makes sense for tourists to help pay for town infrastructure.

“Why not get the money elsewhere?” she asked. “Put it on the ballot and let the people speak.”